Cleaning swab



F. M. HARRIS Feb. 3, 1942.

F'iled Mach 4, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 3, 1942 f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE` CLEANING swAB Floyd M. Harris, Merchantville, N.. J. Application March 4, 1937,v serial No. 128,963 9 claims. e(ci. 15-21m My invention relates to cleaning swabs or the like and particularly to swabs for use in place of the usual commode brush for cleaning toilet bowls.

Toilet bowl cleaning brushes which are coml,

monly used in the home are objectionable in that after they have been used they are unsanitary and it is generally difficult to find a place to store them, especially before they have become dry.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved swab or the like for cleaning toilet bowls which is disposable.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved cleaning `device having a swab portion and a handle portion, both of which are disposable in a toilet bowl.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention I make the complete cleaning device or swab, both swab portion and handle portion, of disposable tissue or paper pulp which is 'stiffened by some water soluble material such as sugar, glue, water glass, or, preferably, a suitable mixture of water soluble materials such as glucose and -ground glue (animal glue). While this swab is being used for cleaning a toilet bowl,'the handle remains rigid as the swab portion gradually softens in the water and shreds away. After a short period, say from one-*half to two minutes, the swab end may be disintegrated or nearly so, this, however, being sufficient time for cleaning the bowl. After thel bowl is cleaned, the swab is left in the toilet bowl and in a fewv minutes, if not immediately, the swab, handle and all, may be flush-ed down the toilet bowl. Since the stiffening material iswater soluble, there is no danger of stopping the drain.

The inventionwillbe better understood from the' following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a view in elevation of one embodiment of my invention, this view being drawn to scale, one-half full size; n,

Figs.- 2 and 3 are views taken in cross-section on the 1ines`2-,2 and 3 3, respectively, in Fig. 1';

Fig. 4 is a View of a modified swab end of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view taken in cross-section onv the line 5-5 in Fig.r4;

Fig. k6 is a view in elevation of another embodiment of my invention;

Fig. '7 is a side'view of the device shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view taken in cross-section on the line 8-8 in Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a-view in elevation of a modified swab end of the device shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 10 is a view taken in cross-section on the line IO-linFig.9. 4

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, there is shown a swab constructed in accordance with one embodiment of my invention.y The swab consists of a handle portion I and a swab portion 2, the entire swab preferably being an integral unit made of disposable tissue, pulp, or the like impregnated or stiiened with a water soluble material such asvsugar, water glass or the like as previously stated.

As indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, and as indicated by the dotted linesin Fig. l, the handle portion I may be in the form of a tube and the opening may extend into the swab portion 2. Obviously, the opening in the swab portion 2 may be larger than that shown, if desired,rwhereby the wall of this portion is thinner than illustrated. In some cases it may be preferred to make the handle and swab portions with a wall thickness that is uniform throughout.

One way of making the swab shown in Fig. 1 is to wind tissue paper such as Kleenex tissue or toilet paper on a form such as a round rod, a larger amount of paper being wound on the swab end of the rod than on the rest of it to form the swab portion 2. While the tissue paper is being wound on the rod, or after it has been wound on, the paper is soaked with a suitable solution of water soluble material. The tissue paper is then allowed to dry or partially dry on the form after which the complete swab ready for use, as shown in Fig, 1. may be removed from the form.

The swab portion 2 may have a smooth surface as shown in Fig. 1 or it may have a ribbed or corrugated surface as shown in Figs. 4 an-d 5. The ribs or any other desired pattern for rough-ening the swab surface may be pressed or moulded into the swab before the tissue paper has dried. Ribsy on the swab surface `may be desirable as they will soften up at almost the instant they hit the water whereby the swab immediately has a surface which is effective to clean a toilet bowl. In this connection it may be noted that if the swab shown in Fig. 1 is made as described with a paper havingl the general characteristics of K1eenex" tissue, the structure of the swab will be rather porous, since the tissue is rather loosely wound, and the surface of the swab portion will begin to soften and shred away an instant after the swab is put into water.

The swab, instead of beingl made from disposable tissue, may be made of dry paper pulp which has been soaked and softened in a solution of water soluble material such as previously described. The softened pulp is then moulded into a suitable shape such as the one shown in Fig. 1. When the swab is made in this way it is especially desirable to form ribs, diamond shape patterns, or the like, on the surface of the swab portion for the purpose mentioned above.

O-ne satisfactory way of moulding my swab is to `employ a well known process commonly used for making papier-mch articles. In this process a fine screen is first shaped to conform to the outer contours of the swab, an opening being left in the end of the handle portion of the screen mould to permit the entrance of pulp. Paper pump in one of the above-described solutions is then forced inside the screen mould at a suitable pressure. The pulp collects on the inner surface of the mould as the solution is forced out through the meshes of the screen. When the pulp reaches the desired thickness, the flow of the pulp is stopped and the swab is partially dried in the moulu. It is then removed from the mould and the drying completed in a suitable oven or the like. i Y

As indicated at 3 in Fig. 1, a substantial part of the handle portion I may be made thicker near the swab portion -2 than the rest of the handle portion in order to prevent it from softening too rapidly and breaking off during use-as a result of water being splashed on it. l

Various solutions of water soluble materials have been found satisfactory for use in making the above-described swab. The following solution, for example, was used to soak Kleenex tissue as it was being wound up on a rod to form a swab of substantially the shapeshown in Fig. l:

Solution #1 Ounces Water 3 Ground glue (animal glue) 1 Glucose 2 Glycerine a 1 The glycerine may be omitted from the #l solution if desired. Also, la solution of either ground glue alone or glucose alone will give fairly satisfactory results. Other sugars such as cane sugar may be substituted for the glucose.

Other solutions used in the same manner as just described which gave satisfactory results are the following:

In the above solutions fluid ounces are referred to.

Still another solution which maybe employed for stiifening the disposable paper or for wetting dry paper pulp is a solution of water glass.

It will be understood that the rapidity. with which my improved swab disintegrates `after being placed in water for use maybe controlled by varying the amount of sugar, glueorthe like in the stiifening solution. It may also'becotrolled by the type of paper employed and by the tightness with which it is wound when the swab is made from paper.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 there is illustrated another embodiment of my invention. This swab is similar to that shown in Fig. 1 but it is shaped more in accordance with one well known form of "commode brush. Like the first described swab, it has a handle portion 4 and a swab portion 6. Although the swab portion is indicated as being solid, it will be made hollow if the abovedescribed papier-mach moulding process is employed. It will be seen that the swab portion is nat and at an angle with respect to the handle portion.

As described in connection with the other form of swab, the swab portion may be ribbed, prefer: ably transversely of the swab, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

While my cleaning swab preferably is made with a disposable handle integral with the swab portion proper, my invention is not limited to such structure as the swab portion proper may be manufactured for use with a permanent handle. Or the swab portion 2 (Fig. 1) may be moulded from paper pulp as described and the handle portionl made byrolling tissue paper into a ,tube which is wet with the desired stiffening solution. After the two portions are dried, the handle may be forced into ahole in the swab yportion either before the article is soldor by the user vof the article just before using it.

The term paper stock used in the claims includes any paper material such as' tissue paper or the like or paper pulp. Itis to be understood that the term paper stock includes material of the type rused in tissue known by the .trade name Kleenex.' f

I claim asmy invention:

1. A cleaning swab for toilet bowls or the like, said swabconsisting of a swab portion and an elongated handle portion of less diameter than thefswab portion, each of said portions having the characteristicrthat it disintegrates rapidly in waterV whereby the complete swab is disposable in a toilet bowl. i Y

2. `Acleaning swab for toilet bowls or'vthe like comprisingl a device having an elongated handle portion and a swab portion, said swab being at least ten inches long, each of said portions `comprising disposable paper stock impregnated with a water soluble stiffening material.

3. A cleaning swab for toilet bowls or the like comprising a unitary device having an elongated handle portion and a swab portion, said handle portion beingA of less diameter than said swab portion, each of said portions/consisting of disposable paper material impregnated with a water soluble stiifening stock. l

4. The invention accordingw to claim 3 char-v acterized in that' said paper material is impregnated with a sugar solution.

5. 'I'he invention according to claim 3 characterized in that said paper materialis ifnpregnated with a solution of sugar .and glue.

6. The invention according .t0 Vclaim 3 'characterized in that said material is impregnated with glue. "j t '7. A cleaning swab for toiletbowls'or the Vlike comprising a unitary devicehaving a handle portion at least eight inches long and al swab portion, each of said portions `consisting of disposable tissue paper impregnated or sized with a water soluble material. s I

8. The invention according to claim 3 char-I acterized in that there is sufcent stiffenng material in said handle portion to make it rigid.

9. A cleaning swab for toilet bowls or the like which is at least ten inches long and which is elongated in shape whereby one end may be used as a handle portion and the other end as a swab portion, said swab being made of paper pulp or 5 disintegrates readily in water.

FLOYD M. HARRIS. 

